The Demon Prince
by adrien skywalker
Summary: When Indra starts gathering warriors from across the world to build up his forces to overthrow him, Shiva revives the greatest warrior in their myth and fuses his soul to a recently departed being, to even the scales on his side. This effectively screws the plans of all major players in all the pantheons who are now blindsided by this new arrival. Heavy influences of various Myths.
1. Chapter 1

As I hammered in the last bolt and staggered over the rim, it was not at all clear to me who was the conqueror and who was the conquered. To think that our team would finally do the impossible and become the first team of mountaineer's in history to ascend to the summit of the famous Mount Kailash, it was a heady moment.

* * *

_Mount Kailash also known as Kailasa; is a 6,638 m (21,778 ft) high peak in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains), which forms part of the Transhimalaya in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China._

_The mountain is located near Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal, close to the source of some of the longest Asian rivers: the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali also known as Ghaghara (a tributary of the Ganges) in India. Mount Kailash is considered to be sacred abode of Shiva, one of the three supreme deities in Hinduism._

* * *

Just then, Thapa, our Nepali guide shouted out in alarm, and we all turned around only to pale as we saw the one thing that is most frightening to all mountaineers.

"**AVALANCHE!" **the roar went out as all of us scrambled to find cover and secure ourselves. As I scrambled to steady myself, the ledge on which I was standing began to wobble, and in pure terror I began to race ahead and jump on to the neighboring ledge, when with a rumble the ledge broke apart and collapsed and I fell along with it down the cliff-side.

I was so shocked and had no idea what was happening. I remember slipping, then I tumbled for what felt like forever, hitting minor edges on the cliffsides along the way. I felt helpless and out of control, like being in a dream. When would I stop falling? All I remember thinking was that the view from the cliff had felt so pretty a couple of minutes ago; how could it have switched so quickly to this?

Halfway down the cliff, the light went out and all I could see was darkness as I was left falling through the air. Before I knew it, the cliff slope became even steeper and I fell farther. A little later I must have hit a rock and blacked out.

My next memory is lying by the small stream I'd spotted from the top of the cliff as I was falling down and I could hear someone approaching me. I could see a bright glow and make a humanoid shape which seemed to be observing me. I felt being enveloped by that light and could barely make out some words.

"_**You are not the best that I had hoped for, but you are not the worst either. You will do," **_and just as I lost consciousness, I thought I saw that person's forehead split in the middle and it appeared as if a beam of light originating from there hit me and I knew no more.

When I came to, I found myself on a soft bed, with a hum of beeping sounds in the background. As I slowly opened my eyes, I found myself in what appeared to be a hospital bed, hooked up to various machines monitoring my health.

"Ah, you are awake!" a voice came to my side, and I turned around and froze as I saw what was in front of me. A tall, blue skinned man in the get up of a doctor with **four** arms, each holding respectively a clipboard, a stethoscope, an X-ray and the last hand calmly placed inside the pocket of his trousers, smiling as he addressed me.

"_Welcome, my friend, I am Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of Medicine and the being who saved your life on orders of my Lord Shiva. We have a lot of things to discuss_."

The last thing I remember was shrieking like a little girl who accidentally watched a gruesome scene on a horror movie before sinking into a dead faint.

* * *

**Ten Years Later**

* * *

Kuoh town, in central Japan, home to the heirs of the two sisters of the four Satan's, Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri, respectively the siblings of Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan, was currently under siege from the forces of Kokabiel, the rogue fallen angel, who had defected from the faction of the Grigori, the fallen angel sect of heaven.

Issei Hyoudou sat up with a gasp, unsure of what it was that had instinctively woken him up. He tried to close his eyes and remember what happened a moment ago, but he could not recollect. Drawing in a calming breath, he opened his eyes, and looked to the sky and noticed Kokabiel looking at him with disgust.

"Pathetic! To think that the current Red Dragon Emperor is such a wretched weakling! You are a disgrace to the dragon whose sacred gear you wield! To think that the heavenly dragon which ranks among the twenty most powerful beings in the world is now dependent on a weakling like you makes my blood boil!" the fallen angel ranted in frustration, while tears of shame welled up in the young boy's eyes as he lay down on the ground broken.

He had activated his scale mail armor and boosted his strength to the highest extent possible and had charged at Kokabiel, only to be swatted out of the sky like an annoying insect. His armor shattered, his body bleeding, he had crashed down unconscious and only the immediate action of his teammate Asia Argento, wielder of Twilight healing had saved his life.

"Rias Gremory! Sona Sitri! Is this the best that you have to offer? Little children playing at leaders and warriors! Pampered brats like you have no right to act as if you are of any significance if this is the kind of strength you can bring to bear! More and more, I stand convinced that my course of action is correct! I will wipe out your indulgent lives here today, and then perhaps Sirzechs and Serafall will actually cast off their self-imposed shackles and unleash their true strength! Yes, I believe I shall do just that," Kokabiel mused, as he looked at the two wounded young women in question, who were on the ground, bleeding from the various wounds inflicted upon them from the blade of the re-forged Excalibur, fused from the five Excalibur shards stolen from the various branches of the Church, and currently being wielded by the rogue exorcist, Freed Sellzen.

"It is time to finish this! Freed, kill them!" Kokabiel ordered the exorcist, who gave a mad chortle and dashed forward towards the two heiresses.

Suddenly, a terrifying presence filled the entire area, forcing even Kokabiel to come down to the ground, while all activity in the area stilled. The two devil peerages and even their two exorcist allies, Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou collapsed to the ground, unable to bear the pressure. Of all the beings present, only Kokabiel managed to stay upright, though it was taking him considerable effort. Freed Sellzen had barely managed to stabilize himself by plunging his blade into the ground and was using it liberally as a support.

"WHO IS THERE! IDENTIFY YOURSELF!" Kokabiel roared in anger, as he tried to locate the source of the terrifying pressure, when a voice rang out from the darkness.

"_With such feeble strength as yours, you believe yourself to be capable of igniting a war that will consume the world? You aim far above your station, weakling!"_ the voice rang out loud and clear, as a newcomer slowly walked into the area.

He was a man in his late twenties, lithe of figure, and was dressed in a fashion that none of them recognized. His upper body was covered in intricate armor made of dark colored steel, emblazoned with various sigils in a language that Kokabiel recognized belatedly as Ancient Sanskrit in a corner of his mind, along with two pauldron's and vambraces on both of his forearms; And on his lower body, he wore what was commonly known in India as a Dhoti, a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, wrapped around his waist and legs in the manner of a pant, and held together with his armor by a dazzling golden belt slung around his waist. His face was sharp, angular and his eyes were grey like the color of clouds. His long hair had been secured in a ponytail, tied with a strip of red cloth. However, there was one thing that everyone noticed, the man's skin was dusky blue in color, which clearly indicated that he was not a human.

"You! Who are you! Why have you interfered here?" Kokabiel grunted in anger, even as he looked at the man's armor with a sense of deep foreboding.

"I am someone sent by the Shinto Pantheon to bring an end to your petty little rabble rousing. Did you really think that the Shinto Pantheon would allow you to run amok in their territory as you pleased?" his words were like a thunderbolt to the ears of everyone present, even though the sister's of the two devil leaders had a sense of indignation creep up their faces at the stranger's words.

"Shinto? Their territory! Bullshit! This territory belongs to the devils! You have no right to be here!" Kokabiel growled, to which the man smirked.

"The devils? You are mistaken, my friend. The devils claim this territory as their own only because the Shinto permit them to do so! The original arrangement stated that devil kind could claim this city as their own, as long as it does not cause a risk to the land of the rising sun. In which case, the agreement would be voided, and this land would cease to be their territory. Your intention of starting the next cosmic war falls under that category which gives them the right to intervene. As of now, the Shinto Pantheon has revoked the authority of the devils over this territory and has taken it back under their control, which means that they are free to act against anyone who is a threat, which includes you!" the man replied causing the devils to gasp in horror, while Kokabiel paled.

With a roar, the fallen angel unfurled all his wings and excluded all his energy in a blazing pillar of light, after which the pressure on the area ceased and everyone could breathe easily.

"Sona," Rias spoke out in a low whisper with urgency in her tones, to which her friend nodded grimly. "Let us observe for now, Rias!"

"Xenovia, what do we do?" Irina asked her friend, who seemed lost and a bit unsteady at the moment.

"FREED! Kill the interloper! Now!" Kokabiel roared, while Freed Sellzen nodded and picked up the Excalibur and raced ahead towards the interloper.

"DIE, ASSHOLE!" the mad exorcist roared, and just as he was nearing the man, the man held forth his left hand, and with a thunderous lightning burst, a magnificent bow emerged in his left hand.

With speed that defied common sense, the stranger held up the bow with his left hand and pulled the bowstring back by his right hand. After a second, a blazing arrow made up purely of flames could be seen forming.

"_**O Agni! Burn all creation to ashes! Agneyastra!" **_the man muttered and released the flaming missile, which streaked through the air almost instantaneously leaving a blazing trail behind its wake and impacted with Freed Sellzen, who did not even have the time to scream as he was vaporized almost instantaneously. As far as Excalibur was concerned, it was turned into a puddle of glowing molten slag and fell on the ground with the impact of the flaming weapon.

"HOLY SHIT!" Issei gasped in horror as he jumped back in fear, even as the eyes of everyone who was watching turned wide in shock and terror at this overwhelming display of power.

"_He …" _

"_He really …"_

"_How …"_

"_**No**__ …_," the scream came from one of the exorcists, Xenovia, who was looking at the scene in horror, while tears were streaming from the eyes of her orange haired colleague, Irina. They had just watched one of the holiest relics of their faith being destroyed in front of their eyes.

"How? How is this possible! It is the most powerful holy sword in existence! How can it be destroyed like that?" Xenovia cried out in shock to which the stranger shook his head in pity.

"That thing was no holy sword, girl, and even if it was the original item, it would still have met the same fate! As powerful as Excalibur was originally, it has never really crossed paths with weapons of equal status before and has only faced lesser weapons. Only when a weapon crosses paths with another weapon of equal or superior abilities will its true worth be realized. And frankly speaking, in the list of holy swords comprised of all pantheons, Excalibur barely makes it into the top ten. I would rank it at around ninth if I was being generous. There is no wonder that this fake blade met its end so ignominiously!" the man spoke as if he was giving a lecture in some academy even as he gazed at Kokabiel who was looking, dare they say it, almost frightened.

"YOU! YOU ARE NO SHINTO! WHAT IS YOUR NAME? WHY IS SOMEONE FROM YOUR PANTHEON HERE? THE HI…," that was as far as Kokabiel got, because within that time, the stranger had again drawn up his bow and released another arrow, which looked as if it was made up of solid air.

"**Manavastra!" **The stranger uttered and released his arrow which flew at impossible speeds and impacted Kokabiel right in the chest interrupting his tirade mid-stream. With a titanic blast of air, the fallen angel was hurled into the sky and was sent spinning away into the distance, until he completely disappeared from view.

"What? Where did he go?" Issei asked in surprise, as everybody looked at the stranger who smirked.

"Looking at the trajectory and the speed, and considering that I used only half of the weapon's power, he should be crash landing somewhere in the middle of the Sahara Desert in a couple of seconds," he shook his head, and let down his hands as the bow vanished in another burst of lightning.

"The Sahara!" Issei swallowed audibly and looked fearfully at the man who had just sent the most powerful enemy he had ever seen, flying across half the world with a single arrow.

"Rias Gremory! Sona Sitri! Know that there will be consequences for failing in your duties as guardians of this town! You and your siblings will be hearing from the Shinto Pantheon soon!" the man spoke out and then vanished in a wisp of smoke.

"Who … was he?" Irina asked timidly, as everyone stood silently, attempting to understand what had just happened.

From a hidden vantage point, Vali Lucifer, the current White Dragon Emperor was also wondering the same thing.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This was a story idea that I had been thinking of for a very long time. One thing I must stress is that despite being in the first person narrative at times, **this is not a SI story**, and I find that writing in this first person narrative, helps me write the story far more smoothly.

Secondly, this story will be borrowing heavily from various mythologies, most specifically Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shintoism. As a student of history, this allows me with more source materials to write this story.

Thirdly, the power levels of the characters in this story will not be **minimized** like the manga, and will hold true to the actual power of the characters and weapons mentioned in the original myths, meaning that almost every single named character will be literally broken when it comes to powers and abilities. You have been warned beforehand. For example, just check the page, 'Hindu Mythological Wars', in Wikipedia and you will get a baseline idea of what kind of abilities and weapons you will be dealing with here in the future.

My eventual hope is to make this story progress along the lines of the excellent story, Son of the Western Sea, written by Mac Ceallach, which I credit as an inspiration for this work. If this work can gain even ten percent of the success that story has, I will feel vindicated in this effort.

Regards,

A.S.


	2. Chapter 2

"_CaoCao! Get over here!_" an incandescent roar of rage spread throughout the area as a very wounded and battered Fallen Angel landed at the base of the Hero faction of the Khaos Brigade.

"Kokabiel, I presume that your invasion of Kuoh failed!?" a deep baritone came out as a young man of Asian descent holding a glowing spear emerged out of a portal, followed by a young man of European descent.

The spear wielder was CaoCao, the leader of the Hero faction, and the wielder of the most powerful sacred gear in existence, the first amongst the Longinus gears, The True Longinus. The Lance that pierced the side of Jesus Christ himself and was baptized in his blood. The young man was dressed in Chinese casual clothing, and looked handsome in appearance and carried himself with supreme confidence.

"Do you need to ask, CaoCao? Look at his state. It is glaringly obvious," Georg Faust, wielder of Dimension Lost, the fourth strongest Longinus, and the sub-commander of Hero faction spoke out bluntly, which the already irate Kokabiel did not take kindly to.

As the fallen angel snarled and began to form a light spear in his hands, CaoCao slammed the butt of his spear to the ground, "Enough! Regardless of what has happened, he is a fellow leader in the Khaos Brigade under Lady Ophis. Treat him with the respect he deserves," the youth admonished his follower who had the grace to look abashed.

"My apologies, Kokabiel," CaoCao spoke graciously, "While I am saddened that your assault against the devils in Kuoh failed," Here Kokabiel's face twitched, "I do not comprehend why you are here?" the wielder of the True Longinus asked the fallen angel who was forcibly controlling himself.

"My assault was perfectly underway and the sisters of the Satan's were minutes away from perishing when there was interference by another party," Kokabiel growled, to which the two leaders of the Hero faction reacted in surprise.

"Interference? From who?" Georg asked in genuine curiosity. There were not many beings in Kuoh who were capable of forcing a Fallen Angel of Kokabiel's caliber to retreat.

"Was it the Red Dragon Emperor? I have heard that Lucifer's sister has taken him into her peerage. Was the Boosted Gear that powerful?" CaoCao asked with a bit of trepidation in his tone. He did not take the two heavenly dragons lightly. His last clash with Vali Lucifer had clearly demonstrated what the might of the heavenly dragons was like, and he treated it with genuine respect, even though he knew that he would prevail, eventually.

"Fuck the Runt! That piece of shit is perhaps the weakest Red Dragon Emperor in history! He is a disgrace to the memory of all the previous wielders of the Boosted Gear! He can barely hold Scale Mail for two minutes!" Kokabiel ranted while Georg smiled. "Well, Vali won't be pleased that his destined rival is such a weakling," he quipped while a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of CaoCao's mouth.

"_The intruder was someone from your Patron's Pantheon! He used the divine weapons of the Hindu Pantheon and destroyed Excalibur with a single blow and reduced it to a piece of molten slag! There is an unknown Hindu Demi-God out there, CaoCao! One with enough strength to shatter Excalibur in a single blow and defeat a ten-winged Fallen Angel with ease!_" Kokabiel almost shouted while CaoCao stumbled in shock even as Georg's eyes widened in disbelief.

"**IMPOSSIBLE!** There are no more Hindu demigods! Not since the era of the _Mahabharata_ itself! It cannot be!" CaoCao recovered himself, and insisted with absolute conviction.

"The world would know if a Demi-God of the Hindu Pantheon existed, Kokabiel! Someone of that caliber cannot stay hidden from our Patron!" Georg countered, while Kokabiel became indignant with rage coloring his tone.

"My eyes may be deceived, but my body cannot hide the signs of the damage caused by an Astra weapon! I saw him wearing armor inscribed with Ancient Sanskrit sigils and summon a divine bow in a burst of lightning! With one shot, he vaporized Freed Sellzen and melted Excalibur of all things into slag! And with another, he cast me out from Japan with enough force to make me crash in the middle of the fucking Sahara in less than a minute! _**From Japan to the middle of the gods **__**damned**__** Sahara Desert in less than a minute!**_ Do you know of any Demi-God's apart from the Hindu one's capable of such a feat? Do you?" Kokabiel asked with iron-clad conviction while CaoCao narrowed his eyes deep in thought, while Georg still seemed to prevaricate in doubt.

With a huff, Kokabiel generated a small blade of light and made an incision into his right palm and pulled out a small shard of light and handed it over to CaoCao who looked at him stupefied in surprise.

"Take this shard of light to your patron and ask him to check it himself for any signs of being affected by an Astra weapon! Mark my words, there is a new player in the offing, and this one will throw a wrench into the plans of many factions including our organization as a whole. The mere fact that a Hindu Demi-God still exists is enough to send all factions into a panic! Your Patron needs to get ahead of this, and quickly, or else things will spiral out of control," Kokabiel insisted, to which CaoCao nodded in thanks, knowing that he now owed the detestable fallen angel a favor. But then again, he was a man who paid his debts. He would pay the debt before he enacted the final steps of his plan. Meanwhile, Kokabiel unfurled his wings and blasted off in a pillar of light leaving the two young men alone.

He turned to look at Georg who looked very flustered, which was very unusual for him.

"**Georg, we go to Mount Meru. Now**."

Nodding in agreement, Georg brought out his sacred gear and created a portal through which the two young men vanished.

* * *

"_Explain to me, very clearly, as to what happened, and how someone like Kokabiel could escape from you of all people_," Azazel, the leader of the Grigori, and the Fallen Angel faction, asked his subordinate, Vali Lucifer, who was awkwardly trying to avoid looking into his leader's eyes.

Vali Lucifer was not accustomed to seeing this kind of seriousness from Azazel. It threw him off balance, and at the same time forcibly reminded him of why Azazel was considered as the most dangerous being of all the three factions of Christendom. It was not his power, which was considerable, but because of his fearsome intellect, which was ranked in the top five amongst all the pantheons in the world. There was a reason why he was the sole surviving original leader amongst the three factions after their war. God was gone, and so were the original Lucifer and the other Satan's, but Azazel remained, unscathed.

Vali began to recount his recollection of watching the battle. When he mentioned the arrival of the stranger a few seconds before his own planned arrival in the battle, Azazel became more focused as he looked straight into the young Lucifer's eyes.

"He wore a steel armor with sigils made of some strange language, and his skin was a dusky blue," Here, Azazel narrowed his eyes, but motioned him to continue.

When Vali mentioned the stranger summoning a bow in a burst of lightning, Azazel sucked in a deep breath, but could not avoid masking the shock from showing in his face.

"Azazel?" Vali asked in concern as he saw his leader look almost lose his composure when Azazel interrupted, "Vali, listen to me very carefully. This is perhaps the most important event to have happened in the supernatural world in the last 15,000 years, if my guess is correct. Did that stranger utter any words before he attacked Kokabiel and that exorcist? Can you recollect them? This is of the utmost importance!" the leader of the Fallen Angel's asked in a grave tone, at which Vali narrowed his eyes as he went through his memories.

"Come to think of it, when he launched an attack at Kokabiel, I could barely make out the words, but it was something like … _Mana_ …. No wait … _Manava_ …yeah … _Manavastra _or something?" Vali asked, while Azazel's eyes widened in horror.

"Vali … are you sure the words ended with the word '_Astra_'?" he asked in trepidation to which the White Dragon Emperor nodded in affirmative.

Azazel took a deep breath and calmed himself. He hurriedly went to his computer banks and rapidly brought up a series of images on the computer screens in front of him.

"Vali … look closely at these images. Did the symbols on that man's armor resemble anything remotely like this?" he asked, even as he brought up a series of images of an unknown language.

After a few minutes, Vali nodded in the affirmative to which he was treated to the rare sight of Azazel cursing vehemently at random things to vent himself.

"Azazel, just what is going on? Why are you so upset?" Vali asked, realizing finally that something very serious was afoot.

"Vali," Azazel spoke softly after taking a couple of minutes to compose himself, "You just had the distinct pleasure of witnessing the might of a warrior from the most powerful pantheon in existence. You are lucky that you did not interfere in that battle, otherwise you might not have survived to return here. All of the people present there, were damn lucky, except for Kokabiel and that fool of an exorcist," Azazel sighed, while Vali was taken aback in shock.

"What? The most powerful pantheon …," Vali muttered before his eyes widened in shock, "The Hindu Pantheon! But that is absurd, they don't interfere in the affairs of other pantheons. They never do … It is …" Vali muttered in shock, while Azazel nodded his head in agreement.

"That language you saw … was Ancient Sanskrit, and that bow, I am sure it was one of the four heavenly bows of the Hindu Pantheon! That man must be a Hindu Demi-God!" Azazel muttered, while Vali became surprised at the sheer vehemence in Azazel's tone.

"There are no Hindu Demi-God's," he muttered reflexively, to which Azazel snorted.

"_There shouldn't be … That was the understanding after the Mahabharata War ended," _Azazel muttered sourly, while Vali felt an unexpected thrill shoot through him. As a devil, he naturally lusted for battle and strong opponents, and this new unexpected bounty excited him.

"Get that thought out of your mind! You would not last a minute against him," Azazel scoffed, while Vali frowned and made to rebut, when he was forestalled, not by Azazel, but by the one person he did not expect.

"_The Fallen angel is right. If that being is a Hindu Demi-God who has mastered the celestial weapons of Swarga, forget Juggernaut Drive, even I, in my original form would not last against them. A Hindu Demi-God who has mastered the Astra's will easily rank amongst the Top ten warriors in the World_," Albion, the Heavenly Dragon sealed in Dividing Gear spoke out, while Vali was shocked into silence.

"Here, read these, it will give you a perspective on what you will potentially face if you think of challenging that person," Azazel flung a couple of books at him and walked out, all the while muttering about contacting some old friends.

Vali looked at the two books in his hands and frowned at the strange sounding titles.

_The Ramayana _and _The Mahabharata._

* * *

The mood in the Occult Research Club room in Kuoh Academy was unusually tense, as both Rias and Sona looked at their respective siblings, who were sitting in stony silence, while their peerages watched from the sides. Upon hearing the description of the man who had interfered and of his abilities, the eyes of Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan became pensive and a very serious look appeared in their eyes. Even Grayfia, who was standing behind Sirzechs had become quite serious.

"Serafall, Is my guess, right? Could that man be one of ….?" Sirzechs asked in a grave tone, while Serafall seemed apprehensive.

"I will draft a letter to Indra and ask for clarification. I believe that the situation warrants it?" she spoke out, as much as questioning herself and looked at Sirzechs, who nodded in agreement.

"Sirzechs-sama, if he is truly a Hindu Demi-God, then the balance of power between all factions will be broken; Olympus will not take it lightly, not to mention Asgard, Takamagahara and the Jade Court! This would be a violation of the terms that were agreed to previously, I believe," Grayfia spoke out, while Sirzechs tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair even as he frowned and nodded in agreement.

"_You speak as if they have a say in this matter, Grayfia_," Serafall interrupted in a serious tone, which was a radical departure from her magical girl cosplay routine (something that her sister still had trouble coming to grips with as she looked at her sister's current behavior in shock), even as she frowned, "_If Indra has decided to flout the agreement, and Hell preserve us all, __**if the one's above him are involved**__, who in this world do you think is capable of forcing them to account for violating the said terms?_"

"Yes … you are right," Grayfia reflexively clenched her fists and composed herself, "Thank you for clearing my doubts, Leviathan-sama," the maid bowed in agreement while the young devils sitting in the periphery seemed totally confused.

"I don't understand, what is going on, President? Why is everyone so worried? We won … didn't we?" Issei asked in surprise, voicing out the question that the others were too hesitant to voice out.

"Yes, Onii-sama, why are you all so …" Rias spoke out in agitation, to which Sirzechs smiled wanly, while Serafall laughed lightly.

"You are wondering why we are so … freaked out? And why I am acting like a normal person all of a sudden?" Serafall asked with the last point aimed at her little sister whose cheeks reddened immediately, while others laughed at the light-hearted moment.

"I suppose you are all old enough to hear the truth, as much of it that we can share," Serafall mused, and looked at Sirzechs and Grayfia, who nodded in agreement.

"Tell me, So-Tan, what do you know of the major pantheons and factions in the supernatural world? You have read the books in the Sitri Library, so you should be aware. Even Rias as well," Serafall asked her little sister who frowned as she tried to understand the reasoning behind the question.

"Well, the most powerful factions apart from the Various godly pantheons would be the Dragons, but they are disunited and cannot be termed as a faction, but as individual players. Apart from that, we have various species like Vampires, Ghouls, Demons and other such factions," Sona replied primly, to which Serafall nodded.

"That is what we permit the younger generation to learn, but the truth is far more complicated," Grayfia interjected, to which Sona showed outrage at being denied or rather learning the fact that she was not being taught everything. The other devils were not far behind though some of the younger members of the peerages seemed clueless.

"The true powers in this world can be classified like this," Sirzechs spoke up as he looked at them all, "_**The generally accepted knowledge is this. At the top are The Dream, The Infinite and The Trimurti. Next are the Four Pantheons and then the Five Factions make the bottom**_," the Lucifer spoke up, while most of the young devils seemed confused.

"Do you all know of the Cosmic Pillar?" he asked the youngsters a moment later, at which Sona, Rias, Akeno, Tsubaki, Koneko and Kiba nodded in agreement, while the rest again seemed clueless.

"The what … now?" asked Saji Genshirou, Sona's pawn, who seemed totally out of his depth.

"It is … how do I put it," Sirzechs spoke out softly, "It is a metaphysical manifestation of the physical body of creation. Imagine it as the Spine of creation, like a backbone which supports the universe upon it. It exists, but most of the beings of the universe are incapable of even recognizing its existence or even realizing its presence," the Lucifer concluded, while Serafall nodded.

"The Asgardians used a better analogy. Imagine that all of creation is a tree, and that the various worlds, dimensions and planets and stars are all its branches," Serafall spoke out as she created a miniature ice sculpture which depicted what she was saying.

"Each Pantheon and faction has its own way of describing it," continued Grayfia, "The Christians call them the Seven Heavens, The Hindu Pantheon calls it Mount Meru, The forefathers of the Greeks called it Othrys but now it is known as Olympus, Asgard calls it Yggdrasil or the World Tree, The Chinese Gods call it The Jade Court, and the Shinto call it Takamagahara. Basically, the places where their domains rest upon the Cosmic Pillar," she concluded while noises of comprehension came from everyone else.

"But there is one universal truth, only those who are able to access the Cosmic Pillar are recognized as the genuine powers in the world. It is where the concept of the top twenty strongest in the world came up," Grayfia continued, to which Sirzechs nodded sharply.

"From time immemorial, since the beginning of creation, the top three spots have been held by The Dream, The Infinite, and The Trimurti who are also the heads of the Hindu Pantheon, the most powerful pantheon in existence," Serafall continued, as everyone looked up at her sharply.

"The Dream refers to Great Red, the Dragon of Dragons also known as the Dragon of Apocalypse, and also called as the most powerful being in existence, capable of wiping out all creation, including all the Pantheons and all the Gods in existence," Serafall finished with a smile, while the eyes of most of the newer devils widened in horror.

"No way," Issei whispered in awe, half terrified and half thrilled. The others were no better.

"The Infinite refers to Ophis, The Ouroboros Dragon, also known as the Dragon of Infinity, which is the second strongest being in existence, and is just a tiny bit less strong than Great Red, but above everything else," Serafall finished, while the two peerages absorbed this knowledge in silence.

"And now, we come to the main point, The Trimurti," Sirzechs carried it forward. "The Trimurti refers to the Trio of Primordial beings who are a level above Gods, who rule over the Hindu Pantheon. Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva, the Destroyer. It is hard to tell which of them is the strongest amongst them all, but universally, it is accepted that Lord Shiva is the strongest amongst them all, and it is said that he is the only being capable of fighting the Great Red and Ophis on equal grounds, when it comes to it. Though it has never been proven," Sirzechs admitted with a small shake of his head, while the youngsters looked at each other with fearful looks.

"Are they really that powerful?" Saji Genshirou asked apprehensively, to which Serafall smiled gently.

"Saji-kun, do you know what is the truth behind your Sacred Gear?" she asked with a gentle look, while the pawn was taken aback.

"Uh, no, Maou-sama, I have no idea," Saji admitted, to which Serafall chuckled.

"Your Gear Absorption Line, actually has a fragment of a Dragon's soul sealed within. It contains the soul of the only dragon to come from the Hindu Pantheon, the King of the Evil Dragon's, Vritra, and your gear contains one of the five pieces of his soul, though you have yet to activate it. Your gear is the only piece of Vritra's soul to manifest. The others are in such a weakened state that it is doubted that they can manifest at all," Serafall continued, while the boy looked at the sacred gear on his forearm in awe.

"And the one who killed that dragon king, the one who was said to be the only one capable of fighting the two heavenly dragons equally, was the most powerful God in existence, the King of the Gods of the Hindu Pantheon, Lord Indra. He also happens to be number four in the list of most powerful beings in the top 20 just after the Great Red, Ophis and his superiors, the Trimurti," she explained matter-of-factly.

"WHAT?" almost everyone roared in surprise and shock, to which Serafall chuckled ruefully.

"But Onee-Sama, you said that the Trimurti rule over the Hindu Pantheon!" Sona objected, to which the three elder devils shook their head.

"They are acknowledged as the heads, but the one who currently rules over the Hindu Pantheon is Indra, who is their second-in-command. Let us say, that the Trimurti no longer participate in the affairs of the world directly, not after that _damned war," _Sirzechs muttered, while Serafall frowned.

"Tell me," Grayfia picked up, realizing that a difficult topic had come up, "Have any of you ever heard about any Hindu Demi-gods or heard of anyone encountering one?" she asked them all, who looked surprised at the question.

"No, we have never heard of any Hindu Demi-gods, nor of anyone ever meeting one" Rias spoke after a while, to which Serafall nodded.

"**That is the point**," she continued, "You do not hear about Hindu Demi-gods, because they are so powerful that it beggars belief. A single Hindu Demi-God at full strength wielding the celestial weapons of the Hindu Pantheon could wipe out our entire race," she concluded grimly, while jaws dropped everywhere.

"You are joking! Right? you have to be joking?" Sona asked in disbelief as she looked at her sister, who shook her head, as did Sirzechs and Grayfia.

"Have you heard of the _Mahabharata_, Sona?" Serafall asked her sister, who nodded in response.

"It is one of the two great Indian epics, the other is the _Ramayana_," she replied, to which her sister replied tersely, "_**Let's deal with the** **Mahabharata for now**_," she spoke out and paused as if she was trying to recollect what she knew.

"_The Mahabharata War happened 15,000 years ago, at a time when our races did not even exist, though it is said that the God of the Bible was present at the time, even if he was considered as a young God. During that period, The Trimurti still walked the world and interfered in day to day affairs of ancient mankind. At that time, there were six Hindu Demi-God's in existence. __**Five on one side, and the other on another side**__, and somehow, they started a global war which depopulated the planet by seventy percent of its population at that time. The Mahabharata isn't explicit on how its calculated, but it is believed that the official head count at the end stood at an astounding 1,660,020,000, including animals. One billion six hundred and sixty million dead. And nearly seventy percent of those deaths were caused by just six Demi-God's who used the Celestial Weapons of the Hindu Pantheon without abandon. That is how powerful a Hindu Demi-God can be when they wield their power to the maximum of their potential," _Sirzechs spoke out softly as a deathly silence engulfed the room.

Issei was hyperventilating, while Saji seemed to close to fainting on the spot. Rias looked almost nauseous and even Sona was struggling to maintain her composure at these revelations.

"Of course, after that battle, almost all of the other minor Pantheons and Gods and Godlings that existed at the time, went to the Trimurti with a plea, regardless of even if their factions were yet to be established or were in a nascent stage. A plea to ensure that no more Hindu Demi-God's are born so that humanity could have a chance to endure and not suffer another cataclysm on that scale. An unofficial understanding was reached, and as a result, the Trimurti withdrew into seclusion and handed over the day-to-day running of their Pantheon to Indra with a promise that there would be no more Hindu Demi-God's, ever. In return, the other pantheons agreed to never try and extend their influence in the lands coming under their dominion and the Hindu Pantheon, which has cemented its position as the most powerful Pantheon in existence ever since," Grayfia concluded, to which the young devils heaved a sigh of relief.

"Of course, the reason why we explained all this to you, is so that you can understand what is going on. After all, we suspect that the person who came to your aid is a Hindu Demi-God, a new one who seems to have been born recently. The weapons he used against Excalibur and Kokabiel were Hindu Celestial Weapons," Serafall replied glibly to which the eyes of everyone widened horrifically.

"**WHAT!?**" the enraged roar of nearly a score of young devils could be heard throughout the Kuoh Academy.

* * *

Author's Note:

Before I am bombarded by criticisms that I am hyping the Hindu Pantheon too much into wank territory, please note that I had informed you earlier that I would be keeping true to the myths in reality and not the manga version. Even then, What I am describing here is an extremely toned down version of what Hindu Demigods are capable of in their myths. Just visit wikipedia for Astras and also the page for Hindu Mythological Wars and you will comprehend the scale I am talking about if you wish to discuss power levels of Hindu Demi-Gods compared to the Demi-Gods of other pantheons. And that is just one of the reference materials I have.

Peace out,

A.S.


	3. Chapter 3

As he held the shard of tainted light energy in his hands, Indra was conflicted and it showed upon his face.

"So, is his claim true, Lord Indra?" CaoCao asked his patron, who dispersed that shard of energy and stood up and began to pace around his chambers.

The King of Gods looked at his mortal underling with a bit of irritation for interrupting his chain of thoughts but recomposed himself.

"Yes, this shard of energy contains an energy signature from the _Manavastra_, the weapon designed by _Manu_, the first human. It is a weapon that can overcome any supernatural protection and carry its target hundreds of miles away. It is basically used against an inferior enemy, against one whom you feel it is not worth your time to waste battling," he scoffed in derision, even as the implication was heard loud and clear by CaoCao and Georg. The user had not even deemed Kokabiel to be worthy enough to battle.

"It is also capable of inspiring humane thoughts in an evil being. It was last used by _Lord Rama_ against the demon _Maricha_ during the Ramayana era. Apart from _Rama_ and his brothers, my son _Arjuna_ and his rival _Karna_, and _Lord Krishna_ were the only ones who were capable of using it during the Mahabharata era. Because of that weapon's effects, _Maricha_ was actually able to overcome the inherent evil traits of his demonic birth, although not completely. It may be wise for you to keep an eye on Kokabiel to see if he shows such similar changes in his behavior in future," Indra warned CaoCao, whose eyes had widened at the information. Georg nodded stiffly in agreement.

"Describe what Kokabiel told you about this being, in detail," Indra ordered, even as he sat in his throne while CaoCao gave out the complete description. After hearing the description of that man's physical appearance, Indra scoffed, "Blue skin was quite common amongst those who had divine and demonic blood, or were avatars, mostly of _Vishnu_, amongst our kind. But the bow that you described, that bears close scrutiny," Indra spoke out loud as he began to voice his thoughts.

"There are 4 heavenly bows in our pantheon, each corresponding to an element," Indra listed off the details. "The bow of fire, _Gandiva, _was wielded by my beloved son _Arjuna_ during the Mahabharata era. Apart from him, there has not been another being in existence capable of wielding that bow. It still remains in my possession. The bow of wind, _Vijaya, _was first wielded by _Lord Parashurama_, the sixth avatar of _Vishnu_ and later by his most prized student, _Karna_, the great rival of my son, _Arjuna_. After _Karna's_ death, it was reclaimed by his master and remains with him. The bow of water, _Sharanga, _is the personal weapon of My Lord, _Vishnu_, and it remains with him in his abode at _Vaikuntha. _The last one is the bow of lightning, _Pinaka, _the bow of _Shiva_ himself, but it was broken by _Rama,_ during the era of the Ramayana," Indra mused, even as he tapped his fingers on his desk.

Then, he took out a smartphone from his pocket and smirked upon seeing the amusement of his human underlings. "Just because we are God's does not mean we cannot appreciate a good thing when we see it. This is one of the better inventions that your kind has come up with. I find WhatsApp to be particularly useful, especially considering that I have to deal with millions of underlings," he smirked, while Georg snorted in amusement.

After a few minutes, Indra began to speak with someone on the phone. Though they could hear the words clearly, neither CaoCao nor Georg could understand anything about it. The tongue that Indra was speaking with was the _Brahmabasha, _an ancient dialect of Sanskrit that could only be spoken by the Gods of the Hindu Pantheon.

After a few moments, they observed Indra's face going pale in shock even as his shoulder's slumped. He began to converse in very rapid and hushed whispers with the person on the other end in a very agitated manner, but at the end he deflated and ended the call on a morose tone.

He sank listlessly into his chair, and groaned in despair.

"Something wrong, My Lord?" CaoCao asked with apprehension. Anything that could reduce the fourth strongest being in the world to this state would not be a good thing.

"That person on the other end was _Vishwakarma, _the god of creation and engineering in our pantheon. He is the one who created the divine bows. He has just informed me that two months ago he repaired _Pinaka_, at the orders of _**Shiva **_himself. So, that man who thrashed Kokabiel was using _Pinaka,_ after all. Which means _Shiva_ is once again involving himself in the affairs of the mortal world. Even worse, he has actually deemed someone to be worthy enough to wield his personal weapon. Even _Arjuna_, who was granted the right of using _Shiva's_ personal Astra, _Pashupata_, was not granted this honor! Damn it, who is it? Who is this man?" Indra ranted, while CaoCao and Georg felt a chill run down their backs.

"It is not good news, is it?" Georg mused, rather cavalierly, to which Indra looked at him in severe irritation.

"Oh no, it gets worse! Apparently, _Shiva_ is aware of your group," he snarked rather brutally, at which CaoCao paled in horror, while Georg fell on his butt in shock.

"What!?" whispered CaoCao, even as the True Longinus slackened in his grip, while Georg became even more listless.

"According to _Vishwakarma_," Indra groused in irritation, "It seems _Shiva_ was amused by my attempts at sponsoring your group. He seemed to think it was amusing, and has decided to take a crack at it himself. So, he is putting together his own group of warriors. Repairing and handing over _Pinaka_ to that man was apparently due to this," he ranted in anger, though one could see traces of fear hidden in his angry tones.

CaoCao was for the first time, seriously disturbed and was beginning to feel the weight of being involved in matters of such high stakes. He truly believed himself to the be the perfect representation of someone who espoused the pinnacle of human heroism, and firmly believed that it was his destiny to free humanity from the yoke of the supernatural world. He knew that Indra was using him, and he also permitted it, because like Indra, he too was using the King of Gods as a shield to guard himself against the elements of the supernatural world, before he could truly prepare himself to launch his own crusade.

But now, to learn that _Shiva_ of all people was aware of his existence sent a foreboding chill down his spine. He was aware of Indra's goal, and this move by _Shiva_ seemed to be designed to counter it exactly. He voiced his opinion as such to Indra.

"**I know!**" roared Indra in indignation. "This is like a game to him. It always is. He and the other two Trimurti's always toy with me, watching me suffer like this. _Even during the Treta Yuga, they allowed me to suffer at the hands of Ravana and his son, and finally when they were tired of seeing me suffer, they acted and got rid of that bastard and his mongrel of a son who managed to chain me to his chariot! Of course, they made a big show of it, and had a fucking epic made out of it, portraying me as an incompetent buffoon, who can't do anything without them being present to hold my hands! _If he is creating his own group, then this means that he most certainly knows what I plan to do. His creating a group of his own means he has accepted the challenge that I have posed," Indra ranted and raved until he managed to compose himself and looked squarely at CaoCao and Georg who looked very uncomfortable at this unfortunate turn of events.

"I know what you are thinking CaoCao," Indra snorted, even as CaoCao tightened his grip on his spear in apprehension at those words. "Don't flatter yourself, boy! Did you think your intentions were masked from someone like me? I have always known what your end goal is," Indra retorted while CaoCao narrowed his eyes.

"Then why did you take me and my group in?" he asked in a challenging tone, to which Indra smirked. "Because I wanted to see if you possessed enough bite to match your bark! But it is all moot now, isn't it? You are trapped in a prison of your own making. If _Lord Shiva_ is going to the extent of creating a group of his own to oppose mine and yours, then you cannot cut run and loose. For good or worse, your fate is now tied with mine, which is actually beneficial for you," Indra snorted in derision while CaoCao and Georg glared at him in anger.

"How so?" Georg asked in clipped tones of anger, to which Indra replied, "Because now I have a reason to keep you alive, and ensure that you survive against _Lord_ _Shiva_ and his group. We are lucky that _Lord_ _Shiva_ is not acting personally, otherwise none of us would be alive to discuss this."

Indra stood up and began to pace around, "Qualitatively, you are outmatched," Indra spoke bluntly, to which CaoCao and Georg stiffened in anger. "If _Lord Shiva_, has gone to the extent of giving _Pinaka_ to that man, then that means that he is capable of using all the Astra's in existence. Your group may have more members, but they lack the qualitative edge to withstand the Astra's fired from _Pinaka_. Hell, to use your human terms, even an ordinary arrow launched from that bow has the destructive potential of a cruise missile! You are outgunned, plain and simple. What you need is an equalizer," Indra mused, even as a cold gleam entered his eyes.

He paused and held out his hands. In a dazzling display of lightning sparks, a javelin of magnificent make emerged in his hands.

"Here, take it," Indra threw it at a flabbergasted CaoCao who gripped it in his hands and looked at Indra in shock and no small amount of wonder.

"Is that?" Georg asked in awe as he looked at Indra.

"_Vasavi Shakti, the unstoppable javelin that can kill even a God. _And unlike that stick which you were born with, this one's capability to do so has unquestionably been proven. You are the second person after _Karna_, to have been bestowed with it. The same terms and conditions that I gave to _Karna_ are applicable to you as well. You are permitted to use it only once. It will kill any target that you name, no matter who it is, and then return to my possession. You will need it, if you are to stand against someone who wields _Pinaka_," Indra explained, while CaoCao gave a cautious nod and accepted it.

"Why? Why are you doing this when you knew I was planning to betray you? And you are giving this to me when you know I can use this against you?" CaoCao asked even as he pointed to the javelin, while Indra snorted in derision.

"First of all, you underestimate the supernatural world too greatly, due to your own biases. We did not ascend to our positions just because of the powers that we wield. There is a lot more to being a God than just immortality and divine powers. Far more. You don't even know half of what we have to deal with. At least, my pantheon is far more different than the ones that you are comparing us with. You have not even bothered to think about all this and yet you claim that you will free humanity from the yoke of the supernatural world! You are also guilty of the same hubris that you accuse us of possessing," Indra chuckled, while Georg's face reddened in anger, even as CaoCao contemplated Indra's words.

"Secondly, while I do not deny the capabilities of sacred gears, I will not trust your chances of victory by gambling against an unproven sacred gear such as yours. Even though it is claimed to be the most powerful of all the Longinus gears, it has yet to display a fraction of the power it claims to possess. You are the most promising wielder to have come out yet, granted, but even you have yet to master it completely. And finally, do you think you can actually command _Vasavi Shakti_ to kill its own creator? _Surely, even you cannot be that stupid!_"

"Fine, what is our next step?" CaoCao asked after a moment's silence, to which Indra nodded in appreciation. _At least he is capable of learning, unlike his followers._

"Rumors of a possible Hindu Demi-God's existence has already spread rampantly to all pantheons," Indra replied casually, even as he pointed to a stack of messages on the corner of his desk. "Every and I mean it when I say 'Every' faction, has sent missives to me asking to clarify this matter. I will be traveling to Kyoto to attend this conference between the three Christian factions and the Shinto Pantheon myself to investigate. All the other factions are sending representatives as well. Zeus is sending Apollo and Athena. Osiris is sending Horus and Anubis. Odin is sending Thor and Loki. The Jade Emperor is sending Nuwa and Yu Long. Almost all major powers will be represented at that conference. We will use this to our advantage," Indra spoke out, while the eyes of CaoCao and Georg widened after listening to the names of the dignitaries who were to attend.

"From what you reported, the old Satan faction was planning to ambush this meeting to kill Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan, correct?" Indra asked Georg, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but considering who all are now attending, I doubt if they will try and do it. They are arrogant beyond belief, but they are not suicidal," Georg replied with a worried tone.

"I want you to offer the services of your group and aid them," Indra ordered, while CaoCao looked surprised.

"What!?"

"You cannot be serious!?"

"Approach them and offer your aid. The advantage of having the three most powerful sacred gears in existence aiding them is a temptation that they cannot resist. Couple that with the advantage they will gain by ingesting the snakes of _Ophis,_ they will take the bait. Use this as a means to test out the abilities of _Shiva's_ new soldier. But just in case that those prideful devils refuse your offer, use this," Indra explained, even as a scroll appeared in Georg's hands.

"That is the _Mohini Mantra_, the most powerful hypnosis spell in existence. Use it and those prideful devils will fall under your thrall and you can command them as you wish for 48 hours. Use them and their forces as cannon fodder to test the capabilities of the enemy. But just them, will not suffice, so you too will have to take part. I will ensure that you can retreat safely from there, if things go out of hand," Indra assured them, while CaoCao and Georg looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Kyoto, the Youkai were frantically busy in arranging the venue for what had ballooned from a meeting between the Shinto and the three Biblical factions into a celestial gathering of all factions. The meeting was to occur in six days.


	4. Interlude: Kyoto

Five days after the Kuoh incident, the streets of the city of Kyoto were in quite a tizzy, as the routes leading to the Kinkaku-Ji Buddhist temple were sealed off by the city police. The official story was that an inter-cultural history summit organized by the Japanese Archaeological Association was taking place and the delegates were now on-route. The cover story issued to the press was that a summit discussion about the research made into the oldest civilizations in existence would be held at the venue, where recent discoveries and future co-operation would be discussed. The delegations from Greece, Denmark, Egypt, China, Vatican and India were to attend along with the Japanese who were playing hosts.

Along the streets leading to the venue, one could see a sleek Jaguar I-Pace racing along, with the flag of India flowing from the pennant along with the country's emblem on the number plates, indicating its status as a diplomatic vehicle.

Inside, oblivious to the concern of mortals, the most powerful god in existence (currently) was reading through the profiles of the invitees at the conference, even as he pondered upon the recent turn of events.

"We have arrived, My Lord," Matali, Indra's personal chauffeur informed his King, even as Indra grunted and readied himself. Matali brought the car into the venue smoothly and brought it just along the designated path and stopped the car. An attending Youkai servant dressed up as a butler to play along with the theme, moved forward quickly and held the door open while offering a deep bow.

Indra stepped out, dressed in a sharp suit, and looked at the receiving delegation. Normally, he would have just worn a Hawaii shirt and some beach shorts, in his flippant casual manner to denote his disinterest in the matter, but not today. His appearance was a statement to the fact that the most powerful God in existence took today's events seriously.

From the reactions of the reception party, it was obvious that the message was received, perfectly. Soon, a very beautiful blonde-haired woman, dressed in the traditional robes of a Japanese shrine maiden moved forward to greet him. Indra neither noticed nor cared about the nine different furry tails fluttering behind her, nor did the woman herself.

"Hmm, Yasaka … isn't it? Amaterasu is taking this seriously, if she has relegated you to reception duty," Indra mused, even as Yasaka gave a radiant smile.

"As you say, My Lord, I am pleased to welcome you to the lands of Takama-Ga-Hara on behalf of my lady. Please follow me to the chambers where the conference is to be held," the woman spoke out, while Indra nodded in agreement.

"Have the other delegations arrived?" Indra asked casually, even though he knew that everybody had arrived already. Yasaka did not miss a beat and replied cheerfully, "Indeed, we were waiting for your arrival. We hope you did not face any unexpected delays," she replied with all courtesy, even though both of them knew that Indra's late arrival had nothing to do with traffic.

Soon, they reached a set of heavy ornate doors being guarded by a platoon of heavily armed long-nosed swordsmen. _Tengu, _Indra idly observed, even as the guardsmen offered him a deep bow and the door was pulled open.

"Announcing, _His most exalted highness, The Lord of Amaravati, The Mahendra, The Vajrapani, The King of Gods, Sakra Indra himself graces us with his presence!" _the crier read out a few of his most well known titles and with a small smirk, Indra walked into the chamber as all talk ceased even as everyone rose to greet him.

* * *

"_Look at him, still walking and behaving as if all of the world belongs to him! I can understand now, where his cursed son gained his hubris from!_" a voice spoke out softly, from a hidden alcove where the speaker and his companion observed Indra walk into the chambers.

"I will defer to your superior knowledge on this matter, as I have never encountered the said son. He was born a few thousand years after me, after all," his companion chuckled, even as a wave of memories, long forgotten, assailed him as he beheld Indra once more.

"Yes, I had forgotten that part," his companion allowed. "You know, there were legends about you, even during my time. My father's teacher was perhaps the only man alive who had encountered you and your father, and what we knew of your exploits was passed down from him. My father actually tried to make Arjuna into a copy of you. He was obsessed with making him the '_greatest warrior in the world_'," the speaker scoffed, even as his eyes mellowed at the memory of his father.

"I take it that things did not go according to plan?" his colleague retorted to which the speaker turned around with mirth prominently displayed upon his face. The speaker was a tall man, with a bronzed skin, almost copper-like in color, with bright red hair held in place by a long pony tail. The most prominent feature about him was the presence of a glowing jewel embedded in his forehead.

"As if! I am not denying Arjuna's talent, mind you," the red-haired man cautioned. "For all his flaws, Arjuna was a fearsome opponent, but most of his greatest victories were won by deceit and trickery. In a fair fight, he could never have beaten Lord Bhishma, My Father, or even Karna. _**Especially Karna**_. The amount of lengths they went to cripple his strength was ridiculous. If there was anyone who had a chance to measure up to you in our era, it would in my opinion have been Karna alone," the man spoke out in vehemence, to which his companion nodded softly.

"It is a pity that our Lord chose not to bring him back as well," the man allowed, and then he gazed at his companion, "You do yourself a disservice, _Ashwatthama_, in my opinion, now that the limiters on your strengths have been removed I would wager that you are a match for Arjuna himself, if he were to encounter you now," he pointed to the resplendent jewel which now adorned Ashwatthama's forehead once again.

"All this strength is worthless now," Ashwatthama sighed, "If I had been allowed to wield my full strength from the beginning during my time, then the fates of my friends and their families would have been different. Karna would have lived, Duryodhana would have lived, and My Father too," Ashwatthama, the last living general from the Mahabharata war and one of the seven immortals from the Hindu Pantheon sighed in despair.

"You cannot change the past, no matter how badly you want. Neither can I, with all my strength, for that matter," his companion spoke out wistfully. "Hmm, it seems they are beginning. When it is time, Dhanvantari will go out and present you. You know what to do, I trust," he spoke out curtly, to which Ashwatthama nodded.

"Are you sure you do not want to go yourself?" Ashwatthama asked, to which the man scoffed. "Not yet, it is not my time. If my guess is correct, this place will be under attack soon by mercenaries under Indra's command. I will reveal myself then," the man nodded.

"You are certain of this?" Ashwatthama asked, to which the blue-skinned man nodded in a feral grin.

"It has been nearly twenty thousand years, but I can still easily read that fool's moves like the palm of my hand. There is a reason why he lost so hideously to me, after all. Besides, if he sees me, I am sure he will go berserk and lash out. After 15,000 years, he will once again have to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer the top dog in this world. I doubt he will take it well. He is famous for throwing tantrums after all!" the man chuckled, while his companion nodded in agreement.

"As you say, _Prince Indrajit."_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry for the delay. I had a small accident few weeks ago and was out recovering. I am slowly getting back into the groove. So, this chapter is relatively small, but going forward I will try to get back to usual 4,000-word chapters.

Yes, I will be introducing more characters from the Hindu Myth into this story. I am planning to build a world where major and minor characters from all myths come into play.

Fact: Matali is the name of Indra's charioteer as per the Hindu Myths. He even drove Rama in his chariot for his final battle with Ravana when Indra loaned his chariot to Rama for their final clash.


	5. Fact Sheet: Hindu Pantheon

Ok, since I have been bombarded by quite a few people to give some exposition on Hindu myths and characters as they are generally not that well known, I am going to create a fact sheet for each pantheon in this story, so that readers can relate to the characters. In this sheet, I will give some exposition on the major characters and events of Hindu Mythology.

P.S. There has been some chat in reviews that I rated Karna higher than Arjuna, and as per myth that is false etc.…etc. That is perhaps one argument that will never be settled till the end of time, and I don't want to get caught in that. There are two schools of thought regarding that matter, each backed by their own version of facts, and that is a source of major theological debate in India even now. So, I ask readers to take any references I make regarding the two characters not too seriously and just enjoy the story.

* * *

**Hindu Cosmology details:**

According to Hindu Vedic cosmology, there is no absolute start to time, as it is considered infinite and cyclic. Similarly, the space and universe has neither start nor end, rather it is cyclical. The current universe is just the start of a present cycle preceded by an infinite number of universes and to be followed by another infinite number of universes.

A _Yuga_ in Hinduism is an epoch or era within a four-age cycle. A complete _Yuga_ starts with the _Satya Yuga_, via _Treta Yuga_ and _Dvapara Yuga_ into a _Kali Yuga_. Our present time accordingly as per Hinduism is ascending into _Kali yuga_.

The _Ramayana_ occurred in _Treta Yuga_, while the _Mahabharata_ occurred in the _Dwapara Yuga_. That much is sufficient for our story purposes. Further details are not necessary or relevant to this story.

* * *

**Character Profiles:**

**The Trimurti**

** Brahma the Creator**

Brahma is believed to have created himself and, hence, is called Swayambhu, which means "self-manifested." He is also called Pitamaha, Hiranyagarbha and Viswakarma. Pitamaha means "father of fathers," Hiranyagarbha means "golden fetus" and Viswakarma means "architect of the universe."

Brahma has four heads that look in four directions and has four hands. It is said that the four Vedas were born out of his four heads. He sits on the lotus flower assuming padmasana, or "lotus pose." According to a purana, or "ancient text," Brahma originally had five heads. One of his heads was cut off by Shiva who got angry with Brahma when he lied to him. The white swan in which Brahma moves about represents intelligence and the ability to make the right decisions.

Here is the significance of all that is associated with the image of Brahma:

The four heads of Brahma symbolize that he possesses all knowledge required to create the world.

The four aspects of personality of human beings - namely, the mind, intellect, ego and conditioned consciousness - are referred to by the four hands of Brahma.

**Vishnu The Preserver**

Vishnu, together with Brahma and Shiva, is one of the three deities of the Trimurti in Hinduism. He is the preserver and protector of creation.

Vishnu is most often represented as having four arms that hold four weapons: a Padma ("lotus flower") in his lower left hand, a Gada ("mace") in his lower right hand, a Sankha ("conch") in his upper left hand, and the chakra (a discus weapon) in his upper right hand. According to the Hindu religion, the chakra is the most powerful weapon in existence matched only by Shiva's Trident.

It's believed that in times when the balance between good and evil is destroyed and evil forces get the upper hand, the gods request that Vishnu incarnate himself in human form to set the balance right again. It's generally accepted that there have been 10 incarnations of Vishnu. _Parashurama_, _Rama_, _Krishna_ & _Vamana_ are some of the most well-known avatars of Vishnu.

**Shiva the Destroyer**

Shiva is part of the Trimurti (alongside Brahma and Vishnu) and represents multiple benevolent paradoxes. Because he was the first yogi from whom all yogic knowledge was granted, Shiva is also known as the god of yogis and yoga practice.

Shiva is called the destroyer, but he's also called the restorer, as his acts of destruction serve to rejuvenate life and energy.

Traditionally, Shiva is depicted as a hermit, and a physically imposing man with a third eye (capable of burning anything it sees to ashes in its line of sight, and by anything, it means anything literally), along with a snake coiled around his neck, and garbed in tiger skin raiment.

His Primary weapon is the 'Trisula' or trident, capable of annihilating all of creation in an instance. Shiva is also the supreme master of war and his knowledge of weapons and their skills is unmatched. His son _Kartikeya_ is the Hindu God of War and trained under him as did _Parashurama_, the sixth avatar of _Vishnu_.

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**Other Characters**

** Indra - The King of Gods**

Indra is the king of the Hindu gods. According to Hinduism, Indra is the god of heaven, thunder and storm, and rains. In Sanskrit, _indu_ means "a drop" and _ra_ means "possessing"; hence, Indra means "possessing drops of rain."

Indra was the most worshiped god during Vedic times. However, his popularity now pales in comparison with other famous Hindu gods like Shiva and Vishnu. His importance diminishes in the post-Vedic Indian literature where he is depicted as a powerful hero but one who is getting in trouble with his drunken, hedonistic and adulterous ways, and as the God who disturbs Hindu monks as they meditate because he fears self-realized human beings may become more powerful than him.

A great warrior, Indra's weapon is the Vajra, meaning "thunderbolt." The white elephant he rides on is named Airavata. His battle against _Vritra_, the asura who was the leader of demons, is considered as the greatest and most important battle waged by Indra among his innumerable wars against various enemies. Also, as the lord of deva's, his role is to protect the gods from evil forces.

**Vritra – The demon of Drought**

In the early Vedic religion, Vritra is a serpent or dragon, the personification of drought and the chief adversary of Indra. He identified as an Asura. He appears as a dragon blocking the course of the rivers of the world and is slain by Indra after a cataclysmic battle.

Vritra was a demon created by artisan god Tvashta to avenge the killing of his son Viśvarūpa, who was slain treacherously by Indra. Indra slew Viśvarūpa when he was deep in meditation because he feared that Viśvarūpa would gain enough merit from his penance to usurp Indra's position, though that was not what Viśvarūpa intended. Viśvarūpa was slain due to Indra's paranoia and his vengeful father created Vritra in order to avenge his slain son. In due course, Vritra won the battle and swallowed Indra, but the other Gods forced him to vomit Indra out; the battle continued and Indra was eventually forced to flee. Vishnu and the Saptarishis (seven sages) brokered a truce, with Indra swearing that he would not attack Vritra with anything made of metal, wood or stone, nor anything that was dry or wet, or during the day or the night. As such, for a time, Vritra ruled the world in Indra's place, but due to his demonic nature, became evil in course of time. Therefore, Indra was asked by the Trimurti to kill Vritra and retake his place as the ruler of heavens. To aid Indra, Vishnu agreed to lend his strength. As a result, Indra used the foam (which Vishnu had entered to ensure victory) from the waves of the ocean to kill Vritra at twilight when he was at his weakest.

**Indrajit – Prince of Lanka (will be a bit detailed as he is the MC)**

Indrajit or Meghnad, according to Hindu mythology, was the crown prince of Lanka and a conqueror of Indra Loka (heaven or literally 'abode of Indra') like his father Ravana before him. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors in Hindu mythology, as mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana. Indrajit played an active role in the great war between Rama and Ravana, and he is considered as one of the only two Atimaharathi class warriors ever born on earth as told in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and the Vedas. He is the one and only warrior who possessed the three ultimate weapons of Trimurti, i.e. Brahmanda astra, Vaishnavastra, and Pashupatastra. He acquired all kinds of celestial weapons from his Guru Shukra, Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. By defeating the Devas in the heaven, he took their weapons, and in doing so became the possessor of all kinds of divine weapons of the deva's; then his own race, the asura's; and finally, the weapons of the Trimurti's themselves. Indrajit even managed to subdue both Rama and Lakshmana once, and later incapacitated Lakshmana again in their second encounter. During the course of the war, Indrajit killed 670 million Vanara's in a single day, nearly exterminating the entire half man-half monkey race.

Indrajit was the eldest son of Ravana and his wife Mandodari, he was named Meghnad after his birth because his birth cry sounded like thunder. When he was about to be born, Ravana wanted his son to be the ultimate warrior and extremely knowledgeable. Ravana was a great astrologist, and so to make his son immortal he commanded all the planets and constellations to assemble in such a position that it would allow his son to be born the way he wanted; and because of Ravana's anger and power, all the planets and constellations feared him. As such, all the planets assembled in the position as desired by Ravana at time of his son Meghnad's birth. All the planets aligned in such a way that they came in the 11th house of his son Meghnad's horoscope. However, Shani (Saturn) had disobeyed Ravana's orders and had settled in the 12th house of Meghnad's horoscope. Ravana became furious at this and blamed Shani and punished him severely. Due to the interference of Shani, Meghnad had to die at the hands of Lakshmana in the war between Rama and Ravana (Shani is considered as the harbinger of bad luck in Hinduism).

During the battle between the Devas and Ravana, Lord Indra, king of heavens accompanied by all other devas captured Ravana. To rescue his father, Meghnad attacked Indra and his elephant Airavata, and defeated all the Devas, and even Indra. Meghnad tied and mounted Indra onto his celestial chariot and dragged him to Lanka in revenge. Ravana and Meghnad later decided to kill Indra. At this juncture, Lord Brahma intervened and asked Meghnad to free Indra. Meghnad obliged and was granted a chance to ask for a boon from Brahma. Meghnad asked for immortality, but Brahma remarked that absolute immortality is against the law of the nature. Instead, he was then granted another boon that after the completion of the Yagna (fire-worship) of his native goddess, he will get a celestial chariot, mounting on which, he will win over any enemy in war and become invulnerable, but Brahma also cautioned him that whosoever would destroy this yagna would also kill him. Brahma was highly impressed by Meghnad's valor in this war and it was he who gave him the name **Indrajit** ("the conqueror of Indra"); it is also believed that Meghnad was granted another boon by Brahma in which it was promised to him that he would only be killed by a man who hadn't slept and eaten food for twelve years continuously.

_That man was Lakshmana, the younger brother of Rama, who had sworn to serve his brother loyally without resting for a minute for the period of fourteen years during which they were exiled._ Lakshmana was the avatar of the great snake Shesha, the personal servant of Vishnu, and one of the primordial beings, who is said to carry the entire universe upon his million hoods.

**Ashwatthama – Son of Drona**

Ashwatthama or Drauni is the son of guru Drona and the grandson of the sage Bharadwaja. Drona did many years of severe penance to please Lord Shiva in order to obtain a son who possessed the same valiance as Lord Shiva. Born an immortal, Ashwatthama was born with a gem in his forehead which gave him power over all living beings lower than humans; it protected him from hunger, thirst, and fatigue.

Ashwatthama is a mighty Maharathi class warrior who fought on the Kaurava side against the Pandava's in the Mahabharata War. Ashwatthama is considered as an avatar of one of the eleven Rudras (an aspect of Shiva) and is one of the seven immortals of the Hindu Pantheon. During the course of war, the deceptive plot of the Pandavas who lied about his 'death', led to the beheading of his grieving father Drona, who was incapacitated while meditating for his son's well-being. Ashwatthama was appointed as the final commander-in-chief of the Kauravas in the Mahabharata War. Ashwatthama, overcome with grief and rage at the deceitful manner in which the Pandavas conducted the war, manifested his latent powers as a Rudra, and slaughtered most of the Pandava camp in a single night offensive, turning the Pandava's victory into a pyrrhic victory.

The Pandava's and Krishna who were away during the night assault, returned to their camp the next day morning. Hearing the news of these events in the morning, Yudhishthira, the leader of the Pandava's and the eldest of the five brothers fainted, and the rest of the Pandava's became inconsolable in grief, as Ashwatthama had slaughtered all their kin, and all of their children. Bhima, the second Pandava, angrily rushed to kill Drona's son in a berserk rage; at which, the Pandava's knowing that Bhima was no match for Ashwatthama, along with Krishna, went to save Bhima. They found Bhima and Ashwatthama engaged in battle at sage Vyasa's hermitage.

The triggered and absolutely berserk Ashwatthama, in his rage invoked the extremely powerful Brahmashirastra (capable of burning the planet itself to ashes) against the Pandava's to fulfill the oath of killing them which he had given to a dying Duryodhana. Krishna asked Arjuna to fire another Brahmashirastra against Ashwatthama to defend themselves. Sage Ved Vyasa intervened and prevented the 2 weapons from clashing against each other, and asked both Arjuna and Ashwatthama to take their weapons back. Arjuna, knowing how to do so took it back.

Out of rage, Ashwatthama instead directed the weapon towards the womb of the pregnant daughter-in-law of the Pandava's in an attempt to end their lineage; due to this, the angered Pandava's wanted to kill Ashwatthama, but Sage Vyasa reminded them of the deceitful tactics they had used against the Kauravas.

As a punishment instead, Ashwatthama was asked by Vyasa to surrender the gem on his forehead to the Pandava's as punishment. Krishna then cursed Ashwatthama that he would roam alone in the forests of the world with blood and puss oozing out of his injuries and cry for death for 3000 years. Since he had no fear of death during war, death would not meet him.

**Dhanvantari - The God of Medicine**

Dhanvantari is the Hindu god of medicine. He is mentioned in the Puranas as the god of Ayurveda. He, during the Samudramanthan (Ocean Churning) arose from the Ocean of Milk with the nectar of immortality. It is common practice in Hinduism for worshipers to pray to Dhanvantari seeking his blessings for sound health for themselves and/or others, especially on the day Dhanteras or Dhanwantari Trayodashi. The Indian Government has declared that _Dhanwantari Trayodashii Kumara_ every year would be celebrated as "National Ayurveda Day".

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**Miscellaneous details**

**Various levels of warrior strength in Hindu Mythology**

**Rathi:** A warrior capable of contending with 5,000 warriors simultaneously.

**Atirathi**: A warrior capable of contending with 12 Rathi class warriors or 60,000 warriors simultaneously, circumspect in his mastery of all forms of weapons and combat skills.

**Maharathi**: A warrior capable of fighting 12 Atirathi class warriors or 720,000 warriors simultaneously, circumspect in his mastery of all forms of weapons and combat skills. _Abhimanyu, Vali, Ashwatthama, Atikaya, Bhishma, Drona, Kumbhakarna, Sugriva, Ravana, Bhagadatta, Narakasura, Lakshmana, Balarama, Prahasta, Bharata, Shatrugna_ etc. were considered as Maharathi's as per most sources.

**Atimaharathi**: A warrior capable of fighting 12 Maharathi class warriors or 8,640,000 warriors simultaneously, circumspect in his mastery of all forms of weapons and combat skills. _Hanuman_ and _Indrajit_ are the only two beings considered as Atimaharathi's. Most avatars of Lord Vishnu like _Parashurama_, _Rama_ & Krishna are also considered by some as Atimaharathi's. Different forms of Lord Shiva are also considered as Atimaharathi's in some sections.

**Mahamaharathi**: A warrior capable of fighting 24 Atimaharathi class warriors or 207,360,000 warriors simultaneously. They are supreme warriors & invincible. This includes _Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Kartikeya_ & _Durga_ as per most known sources.

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Now, I have the herculean task of sorting the characters of DxD using this scale. I would love it if you readers gave an opinion on where characters like Sirzechs, Azazel, Michael, Vali, Ophis, Great Red, Zeus, Odin and others fall, using this scale of power as a reference.

Obviously Ophis and Red take the top spot with the Trimurti, but what about the rest?

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**Disclaimer: Most of the facts were collated from various sources. Including Wikipedia, The Ramayana, The Mahabharata, Encyclopedia Britannica and the Gita. I make no claims to it being 100% accurate. I have just collated the most easily available facts in one location.**


	6. Conference of Gods: Part 1

"This meeting is called to order!" the voice of Amaterasu Omikami, the leader of the Shinto Pantheon assuming the position of the chair of this conference, by virtue of being the host. One by one, the various members of the various factions assembled in the chamber grouping together along factional line.

Curiously, the three factions of the Biblical religion sat together as one group, which raised more than one set of eyebrows. Considering that the God of the Bible was not present, and to see the three squabbling sects of the same religion gathering as one raised a lot of eyebrows. Contrary to what many believed, after their great war, the leaders of the three factions had agreed to one condition which had to be adhered to by all three factions regardless of the nature of their relationship with each other. It was to promote a facade that the God of the Bible had been wounded in the last great war after killing the four original Satan's, and that he was in seclusion to heal and regain his strength which would take five hundred years at least. This was one thing that Michael, Azazel and Sirzechs agreed upon without hesitation. With the death of the Four Satan's and the God of the Bible, Christianity was at its weakest point ever. If the news of God's death were to leak out, it would mean the end of their faction as a whole.

The God of the Bible had a very fearsome reputation, and his thrashing of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Pantheon during the Rule of the Pharaoh's coupled with the emasculation of Rameses's soldiers by Moses had catapulted the Biblical faith into the top of the power leagues and cursed the Egyptian Pantheon to oblivion. It was that reputation which now acted as their shield. Even their most virulent enemies had grudgingly acceded to that line of reasoning. Even in their demented minds, the leaders of the original Satan faction of the devil race knew that it was only the reputation of the God of the Bible which shielded them from the other Pantheon's who regarded their squabble as an internal struggle. If that secret were to be leaked, the other Pantheon's would not hesitate to move. The God of the Bible had not made many friends when bringing his faith to the top. Zeus, for one, would not hesitate to strike in the least. Already there were subtle signs of Hellenism and Kemetism attempting to become relevant again in the mortal world. The spate of movies and literature in the mortal world regarding the adventures of Greek Demigod's and Egyptian mummies were a stark reminder that though their faith was not practiced openly, it still held sway over the mortal world in some form or the other.

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"We are here to discuss the spate of events that recently occurred in Kuoh town, in Shinto territory, which was leased to the Devil Faction of the Biblical faith. On the third of November, the Fallen Angel Cadre Kokabiel, along with his followers, attacked the town with the intention of murdering the overseers of the town, one Rias Gremory and one Sona Sitri, both of them being the siblings of Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan, two of the Four New Satan's. As we understand, the goal of Kokabiel was to kill the two children, and in doing so incite a conflict between the Three Factions once more to escalate it into a global conflict, **again**. As the rulers of the Land, we were obviously concerned, and not wanting our land to be ravaged due to the capriciousness of third parties, we determined that the two children would need to be saved, and as such, according to the treaty we held with the Devil's, we voided their ownership over the territory. Then, we dealt with Kokabiel who fled the scene and remains at large," Amaterasu finished her opening statement, even as she gazed at Sirzechs and Serafall with an accusing glance, while Azazel awkwardly scratched his beard at being put on the spot.

"We are not pleased with this breach in our agreement," Amaterasu continued, with a frosty tone, even as the other Gods watched the representatives of the Biblical faction squirm at being put on the spot so blatantly.

"We handed over that territory to you, under ironclad guarantees that it would not become a new ground for your internecine conflict. We are not pleased with this breach of agreement. Furthermore, we are not pleased with your fantastic error of judgement when you left such a sensitive territory under the control of two inexperienced children, who clearly lacked the skills to administer such a sensitive posting. If we had not decided to take unilateral action, your siblings would have perished, and this world, including our lands would once again be forced to take collateral damage from your conflict. We demand an explanation," Amaterasu concluded, to which Sirzechs and Azazel tipped their heads in agreement at the points raised.

"Our apologies for what have transpired, My Lady," Sirzechs spoke out, rather deferentially considering the situation he found himself in.

"We admit that it was a lapse on our part for not placing adequate security in the territory. But in our defense, this was a remote location and its threat rating was deemed as insignificant. It was for this reason that we chose this location as a means to allow our young to expose and acclimatize themselves to the wider world. None of us could have foreseen the existence of a zealous lunatic who would throw all norms and common sense aside, and desire to burn the world to ashes to achieve his aims," Serafall spoke out in careful terms, while everyone considered her words.

"That does not excuse the fact that you cavalierly allowed two inexperienced children to venture into the world without adequate protection," Tsukuyomi spoke out in a soft tone, while Sirzechs and Serafall squirmed in their seats. "Considering who you are and what positions you hold, it was incumbent upon you to realize that your siblings would always be targeted, regardless of where they were. The fact that you allowed those children to venture into the outer world despite knowing this threat, willingly at that, calls your judgment into question. Either it was incompetence or willful negligence bordering on overindulgent nepotism at best," Tsukuyomi was brutally circumspect, while Sirzechs and Serafall were looking really put out at being put on spot like that.

"Lord Tsukuyomi, you are correct that my colleagues erred in judgment. Then again, it is an inherent nature of our race to be indulgent and willful when it comes to our own kin, which in hindsight can lead to such errors. Regardless of that, this was not done intentionally, I assure you of that much at least," Ajuka Beelzebub spoke out for the first time, while Amaterasu frowned.

"We have already considered that," she replied frostily, but the implication was clear. The Shinto were not pleased that their territory had been brought so near to open warfare again and they were making their displeasure felt.

"In light of this, we have decided to revisit our treaty with you and see if it is still worthwhile to still lease portions of our territory to your faction. At the very least, from now on, none of the relatives of the leaders of your faction will be permitted to administer or oversee such territories ever again. The incompetence of your siblings very nearly brought us to the brink of war. This is non-negotiable," Amaterasu warned, even as she noticed Serafall about to interject and continued unabated, while the female Satan fell silent after listening to a few hurried whispers from Ajuka. "As of now, the treaty between our factions stands suspended, and you will provide a list of overseers you have appointed for the territories that have been leased to you. If we find them unsuitable, then they will need to be removed. Once we review them, and if we have no complaints then our existing arrangements will resume. Refuse, and we will void the treaty and take back all our territories," Amaterasu warned at which Sirzechs frowned even as he considered how his people would react to such an ultimatum.

The reaction of the old guard in the devil race would be of clear outrage at such precipitous words. However, refusal would see them lose ground in the mortal world. Moreover, he did not miss the hidden implications in the threat. Rias and Sona would always have the black mark of being too weak to repel an assault on their territories marked in their records and it would affect their political futures. As a sibling, he detested his sibling being subject to such humiliation, but he had the larger picture to worry about. The said territories were too valuable to lose.

Grudgingly, he nodded his assent while Amaterasu had the barest hint of a smirk on her face.

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"While this is all impressive," a lazy voice drawled out, "I am not particularly bothered about the fate of two no-name children or some worthless lay about of a fallen angel. What I am interested is in the person who defeated that mangy crow" from the corner of the table came a lazy drawl, with a voice laced with derision and contempt towards the Biblical faction.

The speaker was Loki, son of Odin Allfather, God of Lies and trickery in the Norse Pantheon. He was a tall man, with a lithe build and a long tress of hair tied up in a large ponytail.

"You have been playing host to some very interesting people, from what I have heard," Loki drawled lazily, even as everybody else became alert and focused on Amaterasu who maintained her composure with remarkable grace.

Sirzechs was thankful for the deviation as everyone focused upon Amaterasu, which eased the pressure upon the devils, even though it irked him in a corner of his heart that his faction was being treated as an aftermath by the other factions. He was not sure whether to thank Loki for his interruption or to curse the others for treating them so disparagingly. Wisely, he settled for being an ignorant bystander instead.

"What do you mean, Loki Odinson?" Amaterasu asked Loki, who glared at her sharply.

"Come now, Lady Amaterasu, did you really think that all of us came here because of two little devil girls being attacked by a nutjob of a fallen angel? None of us gives a damn about them, but what we care about is who you sent to defeat them. We would not have bothered if it was someone from your pantheon. But it was not someone from your pantheon who kicked that crow out, was it?" Athena asked with a smirk on her face, at which Tsukuyomi gave a grim smile as he looked at his sister.

"And why do you care about who defeated that crow? What does it matter to you?" Susanoo asked with a lazy drawl, to which Horus leaned forward.

"We care, because if what we believe is true, then one of the most important agreements which maintain the stability and the balance of power between the various pantheons is at risk of being broken. I say it with all due respect, we are all worried at the prospect of a new demigod arising from the Hindu Pantheon. No disrespect due to you, Lord Indra, but even you should know the carnage that can erupt when a Hindu Demigod goes out of control in battle. The cataclysmic battle between your own son and his rival in the great war of your pantheon was a prime example of that," Horus spoke out in a reasonable tone, even as Indra sighed and leaned back on his chair.

"And how did someone like that come to reside amongst your lands, I wonder? As far as we know, the Shinto have never dealt with the Hindu Pantheon. After all, both of you move in different circles," came the silky tones of Loki, who had a rather smarmy look at that, while Amaterasu looked at him with a heated glare. After all, Loki had just insinuated that the Shinto were someone who had no business dealing with a powerhouse like the Hindu Pantheon.

"He is not a Hindu Demi-god," came the dry tone of Indra, which stilled everyone at the table. "Whoever he is, he used our weapons, yes, **but he is not a demi-god**. I would know if he was. The agreement still stands," Indra concluded, to which there was a terse silence.

"And we are supposed to believe you, just because you say so?" Apollo scoffed with a derisive tone, as he glanced at Indra, who removed his sunglasses and looked at the young Olympian.

"_Was that a question, boy?_" Indra asked Apollo with a dismissive tone to which Apollo bristled and made to stand up, only to be pulled down by his sister.

"Even your father knows not to question me, when I say something. It seems the new generation of Gods in Olympus lack the etiquette required in dealing with their betters," Indra scoffed while Apollo purpled in rage, but controlled himself knowing that he was no match for the most powerful God in the world.

"But to comeback to it all," Indra paused even as he turned towards Amaterasu, "Young Horus is right. Our factions have had no dealings with each other. So, imagine my surprise when I learn that someone from Japan had recently used our divine weapons to throw a useless crow halfway across the world! So, I ask you, Amaterasu, who is it, and how did he come to be here? I guess he earned the right to use our weapons from Shiva, because I certainly did not allow anybody access to our pantheon's armory, and the only one who can override me are the Trimurti themselves. So, who is Shiva's new champion, Amaterasu, and what is he doing in your territory? Do summon him, because I would like to know who it is that has gathered the attention of My Lord Shiva," he asked with a calm tone, even though his anger was evident to all members present. Despite her bearing, even Amaterasu felt a twinge of terror as she looked at Indra's visage focus exclusively upon her.

The reaction to the aftermath of that statement filled the chamber with stony silence.

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**Author's Note:** Sorry for the late update. Real life commitments make little time for writing.


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